Grant Manual

Version February 2019(Philippines)

Final draft

1. Letter from ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 2. What types of grants will be awarded?....................................................................................................... 43. How to make an application? .................................................................................................................... 4 4. How will your application be assessed?..................................................................................................... 85. If your application is not successful ............................................................................................................ 146. After a grant is awarded.................................................................................................................................... 14

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Table of Content

"We pledge," says the UN, in its manifesto on the Sustainable Development Goals , "that no one will be left behind [in the collective journey to end poverty and inequality]." In addition, the most marginalised will be prioritised: "We will endeavour," the UN pledges, "to reach the furthest behind first."1

It is in this context that the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (“the Ministry”) designed a special fund, called Voice, with the objective to support the most marginalised and discriminated groups in their efforts to exert influence in accessing productive and social services and political participation. Voice forms an integral pillar of the Ministry’s overall Dialogue and Dissent policy framework2 which aims to strengthen the capacity for lobby and advocacy of civil society organisations in low- and lower-middle-income countries to allow for participation in mainstream development processes. Voice targets five groups, although it depends on the country’s contextual analysis which groups will be served in each Voice focus country3:

1) People living with disabilities; 2) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people; 3) Women facing exploitation, abuse and violence; 4) Age-discriminated vulnerable groups, notably the young and elderly; 5) Indigenous groups and ethnic minorities.

These groups are often the hardest to reach. Therefore innovative approaches to strengthening capacity of lobby and advocacy as well as empowerment are essential. A linking and learning process encourages sharing of lessons learned, and provides a forum for mutual learning and empowerment of the most marginalised and discriminated groups. Voice is initially a five-year programme, for which a total of €50 million is available for programme-, grants-, management- and linking and learning costs. This includes a total of €35 million available for grants, the Voice 2016-2020 Fund.

Most –if not all- the information is available via www.voice.global including all Calls for Proposals and relevant information regarding the grantees.

This grants manual is meant for (potential) grantees to help them decide on whether and how to make a grant and what the reporting requirements are. As with all documents in Voice it is a ‘living’ document; hence if you have any feedback on how Voice can improve its grant-making, you are very welcome to do so via philippines@voice.global.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey!

The Voice family

1 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld 2 https://www.government.nl/binaries/government/documents/parliamentary-documents/2015/07/01/voice-the-accountability-fund-and-the-participation-of-civil-society-organisations-in-theme-based-calls-for-proposals/letter-to-parliament-on-voice.pdf 3 The Voice focus countries are: Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos and Cambodia.

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1. A letter from…..

2. What types of grants will be awarded?

The Voice grant facility is designed to support informal groups as well as formal organisations and networks, although the applicant needs to be legally registered or accredited and have a bank account in the applicant’s name. The available grant types for 2019 are as follows:

Empowerment grant: Targeting (informal) groups or organisations to raise awareness, develop transformative leadership, build confidence and skills and work against stigmatisation of marginalised and discriminated groups. Smaller grants with average one-year timeframe, accessible for informal groups through for example a partnering with formal organisations. Empowerment grants are available from €5,000 to €25,000 (approx. ₱265,000 to ₱1,300,000).

Innovate and learn grant: For groups and organisations to test and scale new approaches. Innovation and learning grants are available from €5,000 to €200,000 (approx. ₱265,000 to ₱10,600,000).

Sudden opportunity grant: Creating flexibility to undertake collective action to address specific unanticipated opportunities to influence policy or deal with a threatened reduction of civil space which impacts one or more of the Voice target groups in one or more of the impact themes. Grants responding to a sudden opportunity are available from €5,000 to €200,000 (approx. ₱265,000 to ₱10,600,000).

Each grant modality is designed to cater to the varying capacity of civil society organisations and networks in the Philippines. Empowerment grants are smaller grants designed to support initiatives for the target groups by the target groups. Innovate and Learn grants are open to local organisations responding to an emerging issue identified by Voice target groups. This grant is also open to those trying break out from business-as-usual empowerment and influencing processes.. Sudden opportunity grants will have a stricter criteria to distinguish between regular influencing proposals and sudden opportunity interventions.

Voice stands out from other grant-making programmes by developing a grant application and reporting process that is accessible, user-friendly and innovative adapted to the target groups and grant type.

Steps Task ActivitiesStep 1 Preparation for calls

for proposals.Based on country contextual analysis and existing grantees, Voice Philippines provides guidelines for themes and subjects that the Call for Proposals could focus upon. This process is repeated on an annual basis for each subsequent call for proposals. We also use an analytical tool using PowerBi to analyse the applications received via the Online Application System called Smartsheets.

Step 2 Calls for proposals Advertising the Call for Proposals as approved (at least 4-weeks for applicants to respond). Outreach and communication activities are designed to reach the target groups and are announced on social media.

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3. How to make an application

Step 3 Support The application process should be viewed as a capacity building exercise and applicants should receive useful feedback should they be eligible for a project check. Voice Philippines organises information sessions on the call for proposals using creative settings.

Step 4 Screening Voice is designed as a competitive application-based grant-making programme. Therefore, for an organisation to receive funding, it must submit an application, which will be reviewed using an open and transparent assessment method.

For Empowerment grants, Voice Philippines accepts applications using a variety of media (e.g. written, audio, video) and any local major languages (e.g. Filipino, Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilokano, etc). All other grant types require proposals to be in English.

Voice screens proposal applications against the eligibility and criteria requirements (six weeks for screening with extension depending on number of applications received). Proposals which pass these requirements will be subjected to a project check. This assesses the each proposal’s objectives and activities, how these responds to the target groups’ needs, the monitoring plan, and the soundness of the budget.

Step 5 Selection Once the screening is complete, recommendations for grant awards and capacity development are submitted to the Hivos Southeast Asia and the Global Coordination Team for approval. Each short-listed application are rated and ranked using the selection criteria provided below.

Step 6 Agreements Voice provides selected applicants with feedback to further improve and refine their proposed project and budget. Site visits may be undertaken to ensure that applicants have minimum governance and accounting protocols and/or to review existing programming.

The pre-contracting stage does not mean a grant has been awarded to the applicant. Voice reserves the right to reject an applicant if they do not pass an organisational assessment and/or no mutually agreeable proposal and budget can be arrived at.

Once the project is finalised, Voice enters into a Grant Agreement with successful organisations. The Grant Arrangement applies for the period of time required to complete the project. The time plan and approved budget will be an integral part of the Grant Agreement. The Grant Agreement outlines the requirements under the grant and other terms and conditions.

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When should your organisation submit an Application?

Calls for proposal are published annually via www.voice.global and shared via www.facebook.com/voice.global.online or http://twitter.co/voicetweetz at a minimum. Applications for Voice Philippines grants are screened periodically and applications must be submitted in accordance to deadlines.

Who can make applications?Ideally, applications are submitted by organisations which possess legal registration and a bank account in the applicant’s name. Small organisations and informal groups who do not have legal registration are encouraged to apply provided that they can be hosted by a registered organisation. The registered organisation can apply on behalf of the informal organisation or the informal organisation can pursue their own application with guidance of the registered organisation.

Organisations can independently submit a grant application or form part of a consortium in a joint application4. In this case, a consortium representative (known as the ‘lead party’) submits the grant application on behalf of the consortium as a whole. Only the lead party needs to be legally registered, not all of the consortium members. If the application is granted, the lead party is responsible for implementing the consortium’s project. Applicants may form a partnership with other non-profit organisations or private companies to implement the project or certain components. Such partnerships however, must be identified within the grant application. Applications may also include activities to strengthen the capacity of the organisation, please refer to the relevant sections below.

Where should we send our application?

Applications for grants from Voice must be submitted using the Voice application templates that vary depending on the grant type.5

Applications are submitted via link to an online application system indicated in the specific CfP you are applying for. The project proposal and the budget can be attached in this application system. Applications should be complete and without reservations. Please note that the maximum file size of documents that can be received is 10 MB. It is recommended to tick the box: “Send me a copy of the responses.” This will assure you that the application has indeed been submitted.

With the exception of Empowerment grants, Voice PH no longer accepts applications via e-mail or other methods.

Only complete applications will be screened for eligibility. Only eligible applicants who reach the project check will be given feedback. All applicants can however request for feedback from Voice Philippines regarding their application.

What if you have questions about the process?

If you have questions, please consult our FAQs.

4 A consortium is a cooperative of two or more civil society organisations, which implements a joint, integrated project in which all parties contribute to the total. They draw up a cooperative agreement for this purpose.5 The application templates can be downloaded from http://www.voice.global/...

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Other questions not covered in the FAQs can be submitted by email or during consultative sessions. The questions are anonymised and published with answers on the website where appropriate. Questions can be submitted by email to: philippines@voice.global. Answers will be updated on the website on a regular basis. Skype or in-person meetings can be arranged with the Voice Philippines depending on their availability.

When will funding decisions be made?

All funding decisions will be made within six weeks after the deadline indicated for each Call for Proposal..

What makes a successful application?

The Voice Philippines Country Team has developed specific focus areas based upon the country contextual analysis and the Community of Stakeholders event. These need to be considered when developing an application. Beyond this guidance, the following general factors are provided as a guide to inform potential applicants of whether or not their application is focused on issues that are encouraged and therefore likely to be considered:

Activities support and compliment the Voice impact themes and target groups. Voice target groups are involved in project conceptualisation, planning, implementation, and

monitoring. Communication and engagement approaches contribute to awareness, influencing

understanding, cooperation and collaboration. Demonstration of links and/or coordination with relevant organisations, communities and

government. Promotion and participation of women at all levels in activity implementation. Demonstration that benefits created by the project will be properly or widely disbursed. Activities that demonstrate long-term benefits for constituents and/or marginalised and

discriminated people. Demonstration of skill and experience in the community/civil society/sector and geographic area. Demonstration of project management understanding and approach to grant use. Promotion of inclusive and accountable transparent processes. Co-contributions proposed by organisation and/or Voice target groups i.e. labour, office,

materials and funds. Experiences, lessons learned, methodologies will be documented and shared with target groups

and other stakeholders. Innovative approaches to empowerment and influencing processes of target groups.

Unsuccessful Factors:

Application does not meet criteria. Application not in Voice format or key questions left unanswered. Activities with an unreasonable high proportion of administrative support costs and asset

acquisition. Funding for freight. In general, purchase of motor vehicles, land or buildings.

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Lack of competitive costing detail, and charges for application preparation – other than for Seed Funding.

Consultancy fees charged are too high. Funding of commercial services, investment or other commercial activities. Over emphasis on staff training. For Sudden Opportunity, budget proposed is more than 50% of the annual income of the

consortium.

Linking and Learning

The Linking and Learning component provides an exciting opportunity to link to other stakeholders and to learn together. Voice promotes and supports linking and learning throughout and within the grants. All grantees are encouraged to include linking and learning activities in their proposal and ways of working. Therefore, Voice invites you:

To plan for involvement of the target group(s) and main stakeholders in all project phases and relevant decision making

To develop a change agenda for the project in particular and if relevant, for your organisation in general

To develop your own learning agenda or learning questions To join one of the Communities of Practice that will work on different learning questions Propose innovative approaches or solutions that can be tested and if successful, be scaled up To document all the learning and changes happening within your project To engage in gathering stories of change as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the project To engage actively with other grantees and the Voice team to overcome challenges and to learn

from successes but even more, from ‘failures’ and challenges

Voice uses a 3-step assessment process. These are:

1. Threshold criteria: minimum standards that all applications must meet. If an application does not meet all of the threshold criteria, it will be rejected.

2. Project check: criteria relating to the quality of the project proposal.

3. Organisational check: criteria relating to the quality of the applicant organisation or the lead party of the consortium.

For the small grants (empowerment grants up to €25,000) a lighter / adapted version of these types of criteria will apply.

Step 1: Threshold Criteria

The threshold criteria are minimum standards that all applications for Voice grants must meet. The criteria are as follows:

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4. How will your application be assessed?

a. Applications can only be submitted by organisations which possess legal registration/accreditation and a bank account in the applicant’s name.

b. The project needs to address one or more of the impact themes:

improving access to (productive) resources (finance, land and water) and employment

improving access to social services, health and education in particular

fostering space for political participation:

c. The project will benefit of one or more of the following target groups

People living with disabilities

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, intersex (LGBTI) people

Women facing exploitation, abuse, violence

Age discriminated vulnerable groups notably the young and elderly

Indigenous groups and ethnic minorities

d. As a sudden opportunity or threat cannot be influenced by one organisation or entity exclusively, an application to address a sudden opportunity must include collective actions.

e. The applicant or the lead party (if the application is made by a consortium) is a legally registered/accredited not-for-profit civil society or community-based organisation with an operational bank account in the applicant’s name.

f. The applicant (or a consortium member if the application is made by a consortium) must be based in the Philippines.

g. The applicant or the lead party substantially works with the most marginalised and discriminated groups in society (particularly those of the Voice target groups) to build their capacity to lobby or advocate for their interests or to have their voices heard. For organisations with broader objectives it is also possible to demonstrate this on the grounds of the organisation’s track record.

h. The applicant (and all co-applicants, if the application is made in consortium) is an organisation which has core values similar to the objectives of Voice, being the equal treatment and equal rights of every human beings, particularly regardless of gender identity, race, colour of skin, nationality or ethnicity, religious belief, disability, sexual orientation, social class and age.

i. The applicant, lead applicant and/or co-applicant is not a (Consortium or Alliance) Partner of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Strategic Partnership within the policy framework of “Dialogue and Dissent”.

j. For Influencing and Sudden Opportunity grants, the applicant must demonstrate that, as of 1 January 2019, grants awarded from Voice derive no more than 50% of the total annual income of the applicant organisation. The applicant can demonstrate this on the basis of income over the last two-year period and/or awards and grants it has secured for future years. If the applicant is the lead organisaiton, this

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criterion applies to the whole consortium. Consequently, if one organisation derives more than 50% of its annual income from awards granted from Voice, this may be offset by another party in the consortium. This means, for example, if the lead organisation derives more than 50% of its annual income from Voice, the annual income from other consortium members may be included.

k. A grant application must be for funding of one of the following grant modalities and must apply for an amount and duration corresponding accordingly:

Grant Modality Minimum Amount

Maximum Amount Maximum Length

Empowerment €5,000/ €25,000 12 monthsInnovate & learn €5,000 €200,000 12 monthsSudden Opportunity €5,000 €200,000 12 months

*€1 ≈ Php 58

l. The proposed grant cannot fund activities undertaken in the past.

m. The proposed grant does not relate to the funding of commercial services, investment or other commercial activities.

Step 2: Project Check

If the quality of the project is insufficient, the application is not considered. The project check assesses the quality of the project on the basis of the following generally quality criteria and with specific criteria listed for each type of grant:

General Criteria

1. Context analysis: the extent to which the proposal, especially the defined problem and objective, reflects context analysis findings.

2. Project Success analysis

The extent to which the project provides a description of outcomes, outputs, proposed activities and resources, and a clear link has been established between the outputs to be achieved and the resources necessary to do so.

Risks, monitoring and corrective action: satisfactory risk management is in place, consisting of a satisfactory risk analysis and a satisfactory system for monitoring and corrective action.

3. Value-for-money: the degree to which the project will efficiently utilise resources to undertake the activities and attain the outputs.

Empowerment grants

In addition to the general criteria, Empowerment grants are assessed with the following criteria:

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1. Target Group Representation: the degree to which the project and organisation involves, represents and effectively raises awareness, develops transformative leadership, builds confidence and skills of the target group.

Thematic Innovate and Learn grants

In addition to the general criteria, Innovate and Learn grants are assessed with the following criteria:

1. Target Group Representation: the degree to which the project and organisation involves and represents the Voice target groups.

2. Innovation and scalability: The degree to which an idea is new, given the context, and lead to the empowerment and amplification of one or more Voice target group(s). Includes an analysis of the applicants’ capacity to implement, scale up and sustain.

Sudden Opportunity grants

In addition to the general criteria, Innovate and Learn grants are assessed with the following criteria:

1. Target Group Representation: the degree to which the project and organisation involves and represents the Voice target groups.

2. Meeting Opportunities: the degree to which the project analyses and responds to a new opportunity to raise awareness, develop transformative leadership, build confidence and skills of one or more Voice target groups and/or amplify voice and build the influence of the target group(s)

Step 3: Organisational Check

For organisations to be awarded a grant within Voice, the organisational assessment needs to be satisfactory in terms of quality. The organisational check must be completed satisfactorily and its entirety. Deficiencies found through the organisational check are communicated with the applicant to develop a capacity development plan that may be funded by the Voice grant. Organisatons which are determined to be high risk as a result of the organisational check are ineligible for funding.

The organisational assessment is a review of the following: Governance and Integrity, Financial Management and Procurement, Human Resources and Program and Project Management. The scope of an organisational assessment is dependent upon the type of grant applied.

The organisations should be open, motivated to learn, and interested in the key Voice principles. The answers to their self-assessment could be discussed. The Voice country team could compare the organisation’s assessment with their impressions and agree on possible capacity development needed to be included in the grant.

The assessment process is a moment to promote inclusion of linking and learning elements in the grant proposals. When needed, the Voice country team can organise a (brainstorm) session with several grantees to come up with areas of common interest and possible activities to bring people together

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around a common aim or theme. It is also an opportunity to promote the inclusion of creative actions in the proposals.

Empowerment Grants

In addition to organisational assessment criteria of applicants, Empowerment grants are assessed with the following criteria:

1. Governance and Integrity

The applicant has a clear purpose and acts on decisions collectively.

The degree to which the leadership is respected by the target group.

2. Financial Management:

The quality of financial and administrative management is adequate to safeguard payments and purchases.

Sudden Opportunity Grants

In addition to organisational assessment criteria of applicants of empowerment grants, applicants of influencing or sudden opportunity grants are assessed with the following criteria:

1. Governance and Integrity

The applicant has a coherent and realistic strategic plan. (review of the quality of formulation of objectives, intended results and indicators; explanation of strategic choices)

The applicant is accountable to and communicates effectively with its primary constituents/ beneficiaries. The applicant (management) encourages and supports internal learning and reflection processes.

2. Procurement and Finance Management

The quality of financial and administrative management is adequate to ensure financial accountability. (Budget, funding plan, financial management, financial report)

3. Programme and Project Management

The applicant has an appropriate monitoring and evaluation process (documentation & data collection, involvement of stakeholders, quality of analysis and learning)

4. Human Resources

The applicant has an appropriate monitoring and evaluation process (documentation & data collection, involvement of stakeholders, quality of analysis and learning) and uses it for accountability and learning purposes.

The number, composition and expertise of staff is adequate in view of the applicant’s objectives and programmes.

Innovate and Learn Grants 12

In addition to organisational assessment criteria of applicants, Innovate and Learn Grants are assessed with the following criteria:

1. Governance and Integrity

The applicant has a coherent and realistic strategic plan. (Context and problem analysis; Theory of Change; quality of formulation of objectives, intended results and indicators; explanation of strategic choices)

The applicant is capable to mobilise sufficient financial resources, and (where relevant) non material resources from members/ supporters.

The applicant is internally transparent and accountable. (Relations between staff, direction and board; quality of decision-making process)

The applicant maintains relevant institutional relationships with external stakeholders and is seen as credible and legitimate.

The applicant is capable to maintain consistency between ambition, vision, strategy and operations. The management is able to deal strategically with external pressure and conflicting demands.

The applicant formulated objectives with regard to the position of women and issues of gender equality.

2. Procurement and Finance Management

The quality of financial and administrative management is adequate to ensure financial accountability and transparency. (Budget, funding plan, financial management, financial report)

The organisation maintains annually audited accounts

3. Programme and Project Management

The applicant has an appropriate monitoring and evaluation process (documentation & data collection, involvement of stakeholders, quality of analysis and learning) and uses it for accountability and learning purposes.

The applicant (management) responds adequately to trends and changes in the context and uses up-to-date strategies and knowledge.

You will receive written notification if your organisation has not been approved for funding. You may also seek clarification from the Voice country team regarding the decision. Often, this feedback process can assist an unsuccessful applicant to identify weaknesses in their application, to re-think their proposal and possibly to re-apply for the next call for proposals.

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5. If your application is not successful

What happens if my organisation is endorsed for funding?

Voice invites you to discuss and finalise the project. This provides an opportunity to review any changes that may have taken place since writing the application. It also provides an opportunity for Voice and your organisation to review the project risk and make small revisions to the activities, timeline and outputs as needed. From the review of the application, Voice may also have some questions or concerns that we will ask your organisation to review and consider. Note that funding endorsement is not equivalent to funding approval. A thorough organisational assessment can disqualify you from receiving a grant from Voice Philippines or a mutually agreed upon final narrative and budget proposals cannot be reached.

The Grant Agreement

Once the project is finalised, Voice enters into a Grant Agreement with your organisation. The Grant Agreement is based on the authority provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Grant Agreements are concluded with organisations for well-defined and described proposal. The Grant Arrangement applies for the period of time required to complete the project/research. The time plan and approved budget are an integral part of the Grant Agreement.

The Grant Agreement outlines the requirements under the grant and other terms and conditions that your organisation needs to adhere to. The Grant Agreement covers among other things performance standards and terms of release of funds that may be in tranches. Voice provides a copy of the Grant Agreement. The person with signing authority in your organisation needs to sign the Grant Agreement prior to proceeding with financial management arrangements. Projects approved for funding are normally required to begin within one month of the signing of the Grant Agreement (execution).

The Grant Agreement applies for the period of time required to complete the activities. A time plan and financial projection is an integrated part of the Agreement.

General Technical Assistance and Capacity Development in respect of project management, administration, and accounting, among others, is always an integrated part of any agreement involving support from Voice.

How will the Grant be Monitored & Evaluated by Voice?

Voice management and staff monitors the integrity and performance of all grants approved. Voice conducts site visits, financial audits and compliance inspections on a periodic basis.

For all projects, recipients are required to safe keep financial records and receipts for inspection as needed. All grantees are subject to periodic and regular review and unannounced spot-checks by Voice. Annual audits are required of all grants valued at more than €100,000. The costs of the audit need to be

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6. After a grant is awarded

included in the budget proposal. Apart from this, a number of other grants are subject to audit, the selection of which are based upon recommendations of the Voice country team.

How will your organisation communicate with Voice?

The Voice country and coordination team wants you to succeed. If your organisation has any questions or concerns about the Grant Agreement or how to report, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to answer your questions and help you with fulfilling the requirements under the Grant Agreement. Your first contact is outlined in the Grant Agreement. You are also welcome to contact us to talk about improving your organisations ability (operational, management and technical); the Voice team may have some suggestions on this.

If your organisation is not able to meet the requirements under the Grant, then you must contact Voice. The Voice team tries its best to work with you to come up with solutions to help your organisation move forward and learn from setbacks. In some cases, especially as a result of events that are not in your control, you can request a modification of the Grant. As soon as you think that circumstances may require a change to your Grant, please speak to your Voice focal point to receive guidance before submitting the request.

How will your organisation report to Voice?

Your organisation is asked to report to Voice about the implementation of your grant. The format of the report and the frequency of reporting depends on type of grant and grant period, and is included in the grant agreement.

For empowerment grants with a life span of less than a year, we usually ask one narrative report only. To ensure learning from the process is not lost, grantees should reflect on the learning journey of the programme. Based on the organisation’s change agenda and learning questions, grantees are invited to participate in local learning events or national and global communities of practice. Grantees contribute their project experiences to a process of learning about transformational change based on practical experiences. We also suggest, a project based reflection. We recommend to conduct an evaluation with the organisation, key target group and stakeholders on the challenges faced and strategies developed to overcome these; on the engagement process of all stakeholders. It can be useful to write up your thoughts on the process as well as the outcomes and any thoughts you have regarding the socialisation of the knowledge/learning and how they could be shared more widely with Voice target groups and other stakeholders. The Voice Country Team can provide support and guidance.

For grants with a life span of 12 months and above, reports should be submitted to the Voice Country Team on a 6-month or yearly basis. They should include the following elements:

Highlights on the most significant changes and lessons learned

Progress on outcomes and outputs

Key lessons learnt (successes and challenges) to be used as input to the learning process or

Key findings/learning from monitoring, learning or impact measurement methodology implemented (outcome harvesting, stories of change).

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Financial reporting depends on the size and the life span of the grant and is therefore included in the grant agreement. Financial reports need to be delivered in the template provided.

Your organisation needs to maintain a separate ledger for the Voice grant that includes all project expenses. Based on this ledger, you calculate the project expenses per budget line, register this in the appropriate column in the template and calculate in a separate column how much is money is left for that budget line and percentage. You may shift funds from one budget line to another, but only to a maximum of 10% and you need to always inform the Voice national team about such changes. If you required changes over 10%, you have to obtain approval of the Voice team beforehand.

Supporting documents, that prove that you made the expenditures, need to be kept on file for a period of 10 years after the project ended for a possible audit. More details on which supporting documents you need to keep on file will be given to you by the Voice Country Team.

Forms

The application form, budget template as well as assessment template vary with each Call for Proposal. They are made available via voice.global/philippines.

Fraud is described as “dishonestly obtaining a benefit by deception or other means”. Voice has “zero-tolerance” to all forms of fraudulent or corrupt activity. This means that Voice, supported through Oxfam Novib and Hivos policy does not condone any form of fraudulent or corrupt behaviour in its operations such as payment of bribes, facilitation payments or “hidden” commissions for any reason. Organisations receiving Voice funding support shall have mechanisms in place to manage fraud including prevention, detection, investigations and reporting.

If you like to report an incident or have proof, or a justifiable suspicion of unethical, inappropriate and/or corrupt practices within the Voice Country Team or any of its grantees, you may report them through the following confidential channels:

Email: confidential@voice.global

Phone (Whatsapp and Signal): +31 (0) 6-13-322-2688

All reports received will be investigated and, if substantiated, acted upon within a reasonable timeframe. If your concern involves a Voice grantee we will liaise with the Voice country team and/or senior management of either the Hivos or Oxfam office, following due process of the relevant organisation. If your concern relates to the functioning of the Voice country team and/or senior management of the relevant office itself, the Voice Global Programme Manager will coordinate the investigation, again following the relevant policies and processes of either Hivos or Oxfam. The Global Programme Manager will also be responsible for any concerns related to multi-country grantees. If the concern is directly related to the unethical and/or corrupt behaviours of the Global Programme Manager it will go to the Voice Steering Committee.

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7. Fraud and Corruption

The whistle-blower can report the event with his/her identity open or anonymously. In all cases, Voice will protect your identity as a whistle-blower. We implement a zero-exposure policy to safeguard you as the source of information that helps us to expose and address wrongdoing. The whistle-blower should therefore exercise due care to ensure accuracy of the information.

For more information, you can review the Voice Whistle-blower Policy and Procedures.

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